Britt's On

Kind of late on this, but to be fair, Modern Family just finished what...a week ago? Here is my end-of-year recap for the best & worst in television, organized by the night it's broadcast.

MONDAYS

Gossip Girl
Pretty terrible season, but it's a pretty terrible show to begin with. I've long ago accepted that Josh Schwartz lost his mojo around season 2 of The OC. I have so many problems with GG it's hard to narrow them down...the constantly rotating 'B' cast (although irritatingly, GG is finally inducting a B cast member in the form of the terrible actress that played Charlie at the end of this last season)...the HORRIBLE sub-plot involving Raina for the last chunk of the season...the improbability of Blair and Serena finding happiness outside of their incestuous circle of boys...the lack of Dan having enough screen time.

Best Plot: Blair & Dan's non-relationship, hands down. The reveal about Serena's expulsion from prep school was cool as well, although insane.
Worst Plot: It's a tough call between Charlie's faux-psycho-act at the end of this season, Georgina's faux-mafia-baby, or Raina's faux-mother-death stupid stupid stupid plot. Probably Raina.
FINAL GRADE: C

TUESDAYS

Parenthood
This show quickly became one of my most anticipated of the week, which is weird considering it's definitely targeted to an older demographic, it's WAYYYY slower than any other show I watch, it has no overall direction to differentiate itself, and it's still got some annoying ticks - Adam & Christina's smothering coupley-ness, Drew having zero interesting plot lines, and way too many screaming scenes. But, I loved the guest stars this season - Stephen Baldwin, John Corbett, Michael Jordan (FNL, not the basketball player) - and there was tons of good stuff to love here, especially the way they slow-boiled (realistically) different plot points throughout the season. Hattie & Alex's relationship, Crosby/Jasmine/Gabby, Adam's work situation, Julia's infertility, Sarah's romantic life...none of these things were solved in a day, they still aren't solved. It's what I love most about this complex, dramatized version of family life.

Best Plot: I liked the Hattie & Alex storyline and how long it went on for (surprisingly). I thought it would implode at some point but it hasn't...yet. I think there was some potential good foreshadowing set up here. I also think Jason Katims recognized Michael Jordan's great acting on FNL and recruited him for Parenthood, so kudos.
Worst Plot: Hm. I wasn't a big fan of Sarah's play and I found Amber's rebellion at the end of the season annoying (if understandable). I'd have to go with the random Camille / Zeke issues when she started taking the painting class.
FINAL GRADE: A-


One Tree Hill
Eff I hate this show. We all know it piqued around Seasons 3-5 and now it's torturing us with a long, slow death. My issues? Oh my, where to begin. The fact that everything ALWAYS turns out okay is insane. One of the good things about OTH during its height was the fact things didn't always turn out okay - see: S3. Keith being shot. Let's look at one, just ONE character this season and see how it turned out for them. Brooke 'losing' her company. Her mom went to jail for about 4 episodes, she got offered a job with the company after all, she paid back her investors, and she still managed to be wealthy enough to do fuck all for the entire season. Brooke being infertile. She landed a magical, white, pretty, totally interested girl who wanted to give up her baby within weeks. Said girl took said baby back, Brooke is magically pregnant - with TWINS - and has a healthy birth to Jude and Davis (cute names) by end of season. Um, I think that's about it. Two or three-ish conflicts, all sewn up nicely.

I mean, I get it. They all kind of thought this was a final season, so they were stuck in a stupid place between not wanting to rock the boat too much (did anyone break up or even teeter near breaking up this year?) and needing to sustain some sort of drama. They also jumped endless sharks with totally random theme episodes - like the gag-worthy superhero one that had NO POINT WHATSOEVER, or the irritating toaster strudel / baby preparedness test one. I did like the "Hangover" episode although it's ones like that and the ridiculous Puerto Rico trip that you realize the show has a lot of female characters that don't really vibe with each other...since when would Brooke go on a holiday with Quinn (who she almost never interacts with), Lauren (who she's never had a conversation with), and Alex (who she doesn't really like)?

I also have serious issues with Quinn. I've rhapsodized before on my hatred for her, but the fact she seems to be on the show primarily to be the creator's / costume designer's random eye candy (a role previously employed by the much sluttier Rachel) and has no interesting plots whatsoever...sigh. Hate.

As for the finale, it was a rushed season finale. I liked the symmetry (if obvious...or super random) of Karen's Cafe re-opening, setting up the show for a mid-2000's comeback, but it just felt like a weird fast-forward, and now that it's coming back to torture me for one more year (I have to watch it end), I wonder what they can possibly cook up.

Best Plot: Um. Everyone pissed me off this season. Normally I'd pick a Brooke plot but she was so simpering and whiny this season I wanted to punch her. It was nice to see her get married I guess, although I'm still ech about her and Julian. That's your best friend's ex-fiancee yo! Terrible way to introduce a love interest.
Worst Plot: Too many choices, but I'll say any scene that involved Quinn & Clay, including the six-episode coma sh*t at the beginning of the season. I fast-forward about 90% of their scenes and I don't think I'm missing a thing. That's a huge red flag OTH!
FINAL GRADE: D

WEDNESDAYS


Survivor: Redemption Island
I am of mixed feelings on this season of Survivor. I was rooting for Rob and in total disbelief that he could coast to the finals, but he did it with finesse. It was a master class of how to play the game, but couldn't there have been a more interesting / dynamic cast for him to overcome and rise up? I didn't like Redemption Island. The only people I liked aside from Rob were David, Stephanie, and Andrea. I'd like to see all three of them play again. I may come to find Philip more hilarious in the future (a la Coach) but he ate up way too much screen time.

Best Plot: Rob & the idols this season was hilarious.
Worst Plot: Phillipp's droopy drawers, or the stupidity of the Zapatera's voting off Russell.
FINAL GRADE: B


America's Next Top Model
This is another show I'm wondering why I watch. I enjoy the photoshoots, but the drama is starting to feel unnecessarily ruthless and the show is increasingly pointless since no one is really successful and the winner feels pre-determined. This season had the meanest of mean girls in the final two - I don't care how oblivious Alexandria is, the behaviour of the other girls was downright sickening this season. Also Brittany in particular broke a million ANTM rules (losing limbs! contrived poses! unprofessional in front of the clients + judges) and yet she STILL won. The destination of Morocco was bizarre as well.

Best Plot: I'll admit, the judging room smackdown with Alexandria and Brittany was pretty incredible. So was Tyra's smackdown.
Worst Plot: Molly and Brittany's stank attitude all season long.
FINAL GRADE: C+



Modern Family
My review of this show is totally messed up. I received Season 1 for Christmas and flew through it and the first half of Season 2 before it returned around mid-February. So in that sense, I give this show a resounding THUMBS UP since I absorbed it all in such a condensed timeframe. Some people noted that S2 lost a little of the sparkle of S1 but it felt pretty continuous to me - I suppose there was some repetition but I still loved every single episode.

Best Plot: I don't even know! In recent memory I thought Cam directing the musical was hilarious.
Worst Plot: Jay picking out burial plots perhaps?
Final Grade: A

THURSDAYS


The Office
Weird how Thursday used to be must-watch TV for me and now it's dwindled down to The Office. This was a decent season because the writers stepped up their game to give Michael a fond farewell. The proposal episode was heartwarming and funny ("three years salary, right?") and the post-Michael scramble for a new manager brought up some prime hilarity. It's still not as good as the golden years (S1-S3) but better than the last one or two seasons.

Best Plot: Michael & Holly reuniting and Michael's stoic, silent goodbye at the airport.
Worst Plot: Erin & Gabe!
Final Grade: B

FRIDAYS

Degrassi
Degrassi continues to amaze me in how popular it is...and how they keep on mining the life of a teenager for new plots. I'm surprised they never did a runaway plot until Ally this season actually. I don't really have anything bad to say about Degrassi to be honest. There's little tweaks I'd make all over the place - more Holly J! less Jenna! Eli & Clare = love but I'm interested to see them apart for awhile! I can't wait for the new summer season to kick off.

Best Plot: I liked that Fiona's plot went from episode 1 of last year's summer season and didn't resolve itself till the very end - revealing a very complex character and good actress in Annie Clark. It wasn't necessarily the plot I looked forward to the most (so much awkward) but I appreciated the length of it.
Worst Plot: Eli's hoarding perhaps? Seemed a little forced. Or Fitz's turn to Jesus.
Final Grade: A-


SATURDAYS


Saturday Night Live
You know I just had a chat with a friend about this show. He thought this season was better than the last few, I thought it was scraping the bottom of the barrel. The repetition of sketches, over-reliance on Kristen Wiig, and sidelining of their guest hosts is pretty painful. The fact that the best episode of the season - finale with Justin Timberlake - featured nary an original sketch is frightening.

Best Sketch: Not sure. Justin's 'Liqourville' was great, as those ones always are. I'm trying to think of any new recurring ones and nothing's coming to mind...
Worst Sketch: I hate the Vinny Venidici Italian TV show and always skip it. I'm tired of 'What Up With That'.
Final Grade: C

SUNDAYS


The Amazing Race
The All Stars concept was fun to revisit, although a few of the teams were questionable. Ron & Christina were annoyingly amusing, my past favourite teams quickly fell into a hierarchy (buh-bye Margie & Luke), and I HATED MALLORY AND GARY. I loved Zev & Justin and was heartbroken they didn't win, but the sisters Kisha & Jen had a great race and deserved the win. In fact, if they weren't so obnoxious on their first race I would have been a stronger advocate of THEM being the first all female team to win the show. Now we just need a parent/child team to win.

Best Team: Zev & Justin
Worst Team: Gary & Mallory
FINAL GRADE: B+

I feel like I may have keyed into one of the things that makes a good scripted show better, or one might say, great. Part of this ‘secret’ is actually represented in the increasingly popular trend of having an expansive cast right off the hop – consider Lost’s sprawling survivors, The Office’s dysfunctional crew, Mad Men’s interweaving professional and personal lives, or the extended families of Parenthood and Modern Family. Namely, I’m talking about the ability to go outside your core cast and be comfortable with adding new members, something a LOT of shows are fa-reaked out about.

Having a large cast off the hop allows you to do many things. It extends your storylines by allowing you to create new pairings that previously haven’t interacted. It makes it easier to kill people off on an action-based show. If a cast member wants to move onto greener pastures, it’s less of an impact to the overall show. That being said, the argument could be made that having a large cast makes it hard to add new talent because you’ve already got so many characters…admittedly I still find myself losing track of the uber-generic names of the Braverman clan on Parenthood.

Lost is a great example of both sides of the coin. On the one hand, they responded to the acting talents and audience response to later-in-the-game additions Desmond, Ben, and Juliet, who by the series’ end, were some of the show’s biggest fan faves. On the flip side, they were less successful with Season 2’s ‘Tailies’ or the infamous introduction of Nikki & Paolo, two ‘extras’ that were slowly worked into the plot and quickly eviscerated thereafter.

But Lost had the advantage of a big cast to begin with, one that was quite dispensable (although generally for emotional and plot reasons) compared to most shows, so perhaps they aren’t the perfect case study. What I can do is point to two big, bad examples of the problems that occur when you don’t allow for new characters to become a regular part of the cast.

The first is Gossip Girl. After four seasons of fluff, I feel like I’ve finally singled out why the show feels so frivolous. It’s the casting. Also the sheer template of the show (issue-scheme-event-resolution) combined with the rapid-fire pace of relationships beginnings and endings, but a big chunk of it is the casting. We’ve been with our core five – Serena, Blair, Chuck, Nate, and Dan – since early days, with Lily, Rufus, Jenny, Vanessa, and Eric playing consistent supporting roles. The only change over four seasons is dropping Jenny, and phasing the supporting characters in and out to various degrees. Serena is stuck in a never-ending love cycle with Nate and Dan, while taking on occasional romantic hot flash pursuits, Vanessa has hooked up with everyone, while Blair is on the precipice of following suit.

The incestual pairings are reminiscent of The OC, another Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage-helmed program, which ultimately met its demise by trying to replace a core cast member with two half-wits – Taylor and Katelin. Gossip Girl fares slightly better than the OC in that they are willing to phase out the B-listers instead of trying to fit them in yet again, but the main issue with both shows has always been that ‘new’ characters will NEVER stick around, and that the end game in sight is likely a Blair/Chuck and Serena/Dan match-up. The closest we have is the recurring presence of Carter Baison, Georgina Sparks, and Damian Dalgard. It’d be nice to have a romantic interest actually stick around and become part of the top-billed cast, instead of guessing they’re contracted for a 6-8 episode run before being turfed. You could argue that perhaps they haven’t found an actor that piques audience interest / actor chemistry yet, but it's been four bloody years.

On the same note, I feel Parenthood, despite having a massive core cast given relatively equal weight, is struggling with adding new characters. Sarah’s love interests have been passing crazes to date, despite Lauren Graham’s incredible ability to create on-screen chemistry. Hattie’s relationship with Alex has provided a solid recurring storyline throughout the season, and given the crux of the conflict I understand the reluctance to make him a regular – especially since you want the will they / won’t they tension to exist that is somewhat ruined when a boyfriend is added to the cast – but if every romantic lead introduced for Sarah, Hattie, Drew, and Amber turns out to be a guest spot, I’ll be a little tired of it in no time. Particularly in the Sarah department.

For as much as I dislike Desperate Housewives and One Tree Hill these days, I will give them a tip of the hat in how they are good students of adding new characters. Kind of. OTH generally shoves new characters down your throat (hello Quinn and Clay), although they’re decent at rotating the b-listers in and out of play, and have cut characters that just weren’t cutting it (hello every romantic lead in Brooke’s life, prior to Julian). DH is also not doing too badly. They added ‘mystery-of-the-year’ housewife Katherine to the crew instead of turfing her the second her dark secret was revealed, and let Bree find new love in Orson and actually add him to the cast for a couple of seasons. In both cases they phased out the characters when it felt right (more or less…I would have preferred Carl to Orson last year) and literally killed others for sheer drama. They’re kind of guilty of shoving newbies down your throat (a la Vanessa Williams) but they’re also a show that isn’t afraid to give someone the boot if they’re just not working out.

The best success story? The Office. They’ve added three newbies over the years – Andy, Erin, and Gabe – plus made warehouse warrior Darryl into a regular, and it’s hard to imagine the cast without them (especially the magnificent Ed Helms, who has earned a coveted spot in the show’s twenty-second opening).

- Britt’s On

We’re in the home stretch for a bunch of shows at this point, with the last few episodes burning off in the weeks before Christmas. Here’s my mid-season (or ‘end of season’ report card for each show):

Gossip Girl – the show has proven itself outside of the trappings of attending ‘school’, which limited them in the first two seasons, but it still suffers from way too much ‘lightswitch flipping’ where the character’s relationships – friends or otherwise – are way too on again, off again. The big storylines of the season are kind of flops: Juliet feels way too old and the show will never takedown Serena, Dan the baby daddy was a short-lived catastrophe (PS: we need more Dan!), and the fact that costars Blake Lively and Penn Badgley have broken up in real-life makes the show a little bit…well, par for the course.
Grade: B-

Life Unexpected – I’ve quite enjoyed this season, despite it still not quite living up to its potential. Bringing Tash in as a less bedraggled version of her S1 self was wise, although the addition of Ryan’s sister Paige has really done nothing for his character or the show. Exploring Ryan & Cate’s bigger relationship issues is important, but I didn’t like the random Julia storyline. I didn’t love the ‘Minnesota’ storyline, although the tangled mess its made and the introduction of Sam (of Degrassi fame) seems promising. Also major props for bringing in Emma Caulfield, who I can never disassociate as Anya from Buffy, but she makes a surprisingly sweet and interesting match for Baze. Theory: Emma (it’s her name on the show) mentioned early on she had a four-year relationship with a married man. I guessed immediately her hesitation towards Baze was the fact it was with his father, and his dad’s bizarre reactions during the Thanksgiving episode make me thing this is the unsurprising bombshell the creators are going to drop sooner rather than later. But I like Emma! And Sam! Come on guys!
Grade: B+

One Tree Hill – Oh god why do I still watch this show? I used to joke with my sister about how terrible the first two seasons were, then I accepted OTH into my life when it peaked from Seasons 3 to 5 (debatably parts of 6 were decent) as a slower-paced character study. Now? It’s just terrible. I find myself often fast-forwarding the scenes with Quinn and Clay (although the latter is hot) because I can’t stand them and their random interjection into the series’ regulars. I also find that the chemistry the original leads has it lacking – they’ve built little worlds around each of the main characters for them to live in, but I miss seeing them together. The rare scenes between Haley and Brooke or Nathan and Mouth are among the best. Also it seems at least one storyline per episode is totally effing pointless – see: the treasure hunt with Quinn & Jamie last season, or the bucket list for Brooke this past week. This show just feels like it has completely lost the plot, and the only reason I’ve had to justify watching it for seasons 7 and 8 was to ‘see how it ends’. So OTH – END IT.
Grade: D

Parenthood – Probably my favourite scripted show at the moment. The interesting thing about Parenthood is that, like OTH, it doesn’t really have an ‘end game’ in mind, but yet it works so much better. The events of the show follow relatively realistic timelines and in many cases, there are no easy answers or hasty resolutions to the storylines (ex: Max’s aspergers, Camille and Zeke’s marital strain). The show is still a little sprawling for its own good – we need more Mae Whitman! – but in general I get really excited when I see this on my PVR.
Grade: A-

America’s Next Top Model – An interesting season in that Tyra’s guest stars and challenges and prizes much more reflected the never-ending theme of ‘high end’. The build-up of Ann kind of sort of made sense, and I’m glad they saw it through, but I’m sceptical about her real-world adaptability (i.e. will she be able to stomach rejection? Will she be able to do commercial work?). Overall a positive direction for the show to go in, here’s hoping they keep it up.
Grade: B+

Survivor – I know a lot of people are kind of at odds with this season. In some ways the cast has been pretty unlikable – there’s no ‘heroes’ in this bunch to root for like JT of Tocantins – but they’ve also been pretty memorable. Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy T, NaOnka, Marty, Alina, Brenda – all of them have been more notable players than many others eliminated before the final three. I haven’t minded this season, but it’s not one of their strongest – the game changers were eliminated early on (to be fair, in game-changing moves) and with the big quitfest this past week, it kind of sucks that happened. I’d have loved for Jimmy J to have stayed on longer. Overall I’m curious to see how this season ends though – everyone left is NOT who I would have picked in the beginning to go all the way.
Grade: B

The Office – The show has really lost its footing in the last few years, feeling increasingly gimmicky and contained versus long-term storylines, whether they be office-related (like the multiple season implosion of Dunder Mifflin) or character-related (hello romantic storylines). There have been some laughs this season, but overall its kind of par for the course of the latter Office seasons.
Grade: B

Saturday Night Live - Oh woe is me at how bad this show has gotten. The writing is terrible, the sketches wayyyy too-oft repeated, and the reliance on Kristen Wiig painful. I have no words, other than to say, Lorne Michaels, give me a call if you want something good to happen with your show. I'm at the point now where I analyze every sketch to say "That wasn't funny. That was terrible. What were they thinking?" versus actually just enjoying it and laughing.
Grade: D-

The Amazing Race – There’s no way an all-female team won’t win at this point. At least that’s my theory. Although fact, despite the fact they keep on winking at the fact one of the final three teams could MAKE HISTORY re: all females, lest we forget during the All Stars season two of the final teams there were females-only as well, and the Franken-team of Danielle and Eric nabbed the win. This season has been kind of lacklustre, as the format gets tired – I’m hoping the rumours about another All Star edition or a celebrity edition are true, as I’d love to see them shake things up a bit. I felt like Brook and Claire were shoved down our throats as the rah rah team to cheerlead for (double sidenote: no team that has used the U-Turn has ever won the show to my knowledge, so in theory, B&C are going to win), while the doctors, while admirable, are kind of boring. I’m not asking for buckets of drama, but a little more enthusiasm and a lot less restraint would make this team easier to root for. Jill and Thomas are just your typical cute, cocky, young couple that tends to excel on this show. I kind of like them, but I’m also rooting for an all female team to win – it sucks that an otherwise likable (if unmemorable team) is kind of being cast as the villains this season. In fact, the belief that I have that this will happen is the main thing that elevates this season’s grade.
Grade: B

- Britt's On

Shock of all shocks, I am NOT watching any new series this fall. The closest I've come is picking up mid-season newcomers Life Unexpected and Parenthood earlier this year, but none of fall's big offerings appeal to me. I have no faith in JJ Abrams to follow through on a show, and this year's 'Undercovers' seems like a blah retread of Alias. The new CW offerings both look like they have short futures, and I'm extremely skeptical to watch the only remotely Lost-esque replacement, 'The Event' after last year's Flash Forward debacle.

Instead that leaves me with the opportunity to rate the season premieres as they roll through town, starting with the first four I've consumed in the last few days:

America's Next Top Model - first out of the gate, I was skeptical about tuning into Top Model this year. The show is consistently cornballish and gimmicky and the talent pool has, ahem, thinned out so to speak. Last year's winner was a disappointment, not because she didn't take good pictures but because after judging a modeling contest with scouts from around the world (including the agency last year's winner got scouted to), there was NO WAY Krista would ever actually be scouted at the age of 24 to start her career. Sorry. No way.

Regardless, the season's opener was better organized and less cheesily themed than the last few and I got to know the finalists a bit better than normal - and saw potential in several of them (my money is on Jane). It also provided humour from the girls instead of Tyra herself trying to force her way into the spotlight, which I appreciated, and the prizing is...intriguing. I have decided to watch this year, which is saying something as usually I find the first episode a total snoozefest. Consider me entertained.

Gossip Girl - I am a reluctant Gossip Girl watcher. The show hardly belongs in the hallmarks of great YA dramas, yet it consistently comes back with ridiculously soapy turns. I guess I can tolerate them more here than I can on two other soaps I watch because of the fantastic clothing and the line delivery by Penn Badgley, who was severely underused last year and has a lame storyline this year. At least him and Vanessa are splitsville. I hope. The season opener was fluffy as all hell, with yet another Blair/Serena "I hate you, I love you!" smackdown reminiscent of Emma & Manny on Degrassi in a single episode, but I did appreciate the nod to the book series which also pulled some sort of European royalty card in one of the later volumes. At least they'll be going to school this year? Sort of. Also is Juliet Gossip Girl? She looks way too old. And not like Kristen Bell. How awesome would that be if they brought on Kristen Bell to reveal herself as Gossip Girl??

Parenthood - Last night's episode reminded me of what I like about the show, soundtrack and all. Also the show touched on two points that I said were essential to its second season success - it gave Joel a storyline of his own (and looks like we'll develop his persona further next week with the Julia/baby debate) and it showed us more of Adam's life at work. For a guy that can support his family quite handily off whatever his job at the shoe company is, I expected Adam to be a little more ballsy and a lot less ball-less when it came to working with his Baldwin brother of a boss (fresh off a stint on Gossip Girl). I like the set-up of Sarah working at the office, and the Julia/Joel storyline, and I called the Crosby/Gabby hook-up as soon as I saw them interact. I think it'll be an interesting interwoven plot line once they make that happy - Crosby and Jasmine only being kept apart by her ambition, Crosby as a (potential) single parent, Crosby and Gabby making it work in the insane household of Kristina & Adam? Has promise. The Hattie/Kristina/Adam stuff this week drove me up the wall, although the two Max breakdowns (including the one where Hattie rightfully snapped, regardless of whether the kid has Asperger's, any teenage girl would) were well done. Overall I'm looking forward to diving into this season!

One Tree Hill - Blarghity blargh blargh. I don't know why I'm still watching. I guess in the hopes that they'll wrap things up satisfactorily by season's end and not carry out this torture any further. General thoughts in bullet form:
- OMG Peyton and Lucas EXIST AGAIN. After being personas non grata last season, we had Haley writing Lucas an illustrated notebook letter thinger, photos of Peyton and Brooke on the fridge, and reference to the fact Peyton used to be engaged to Lucas. Are we setting up a guest appearance, preferably during a series finale? I hope so!
- Brooke's company heading for financial ruin felt a little forced, but I get why they wouldn't want to drag out a state of limbo for several episodes. Let's face it, her store and clothing line hasn't had much point since season 5 when they first introduced it - with Baby Brooke shelved and Clothes For Bros nowhere to be seen - so I'm not weeping over it so much, just the fact that why let all the characters 'achieve their dreams' and rip them away in one episode? Lame.
- The return of a montage-y opening credits! Fun, and I appreciated the longer timeline flashbacks for the three rightful leads.
- Which member of Naley will have complications in the medical department? It ain't tree hill without a visit to the OR!
- Both Parenthood and OTH tackled small children asking about where babies come from and tried to be all cute and funny about it. I think OTH won, although Parenthood's had more relevance to where the show is going versus Naley being all "Tra la la baby time!"
- I have no words for Clay and...and...wtf is Haley's sister's name? Oh Quinn. I spent the whole episode repressing puke during their sappy as all hell lovey dovey pointless scenes, was pissed at the show's creators for making the shooting a dream, and wondering what the point of their endless sex on the beach scenes were for...and then they got me with the dream within a dream thing, similar to Clay's first season hauntings from Sarah. I clapped with joy at the prospect it really wasn't a dream, only to realize they will survive (likely) because they are in the credits, and if I bothered to look on IMDB I'd see they were there as well, and on the CW website. The only thing stupider than a season-ending death cliffhanger is a season opening one, because you know their contracts are signed and sealed if they're in the goddam credits. OTH is not crafty enough to trick us with a "Oh look they're in the credits but they're actually dead!" Joss Whedon-esque move, sorry.

Well that's all for now. Survivor tonight, a downloaded episode of Life Unexpected to go, and a few more new shows kicking off next week.

Till then!

Britt's On

I'll preface by saying this is a One Tree Hill post...kind of. At least, that's the source of inspiration.

I've noticed a trend over the years of shows going to seed when a new, random character is introduced that doesn't quite jibe with the show's original vibe. This is perhaps observed as early as the 1970s with shows that introduced the mysterious child character - usually an obscure cousin (I'm looking at you Brady Bunch).

But this trend STILL continues to this day. And One Tree Hill is horrendously, but not unforgivably, guilty of it. I will straight up say, I'm embarrassed to say I watch this show (never mind the phrase 'still watch this show'), I have been since it first debuted. My sister and I used to turn to one another and ask "WHY are we still watching this crap?" The original answer was the character of Lucas Scott played by Chad Michael Murray, our teen dream love from Dawson's Creek and Gilmore Girls. But alas, Lucas was no Tristan or Charlie - he was a whiny, self-absorbed, squinty zero.

And yet...we watched. And the show did hit a peak in seasons 3 & 4, before beginning a slow descent in the 'fast forward' seasons. To recap, the first four seasons are set in grades 11 & 12 - rather than pull a mystery grade out of thin air a la the OC, each grade was divided into two seasons. Season 5 saw the characters (thankfully) fast-forwarded through the college years, picking up 4 years and 6 months after graduation. Lo and behold, everything was sorta kinda peachy keen in the OTH's world, plus Jamie (Naley's love child in S4) was a cute pick-me-up in a non-random-child way (at first). Season 5 was actually kind of good, offering lots of 'Where are they now?' surprises and Easter eggs for the loyal fans, and introducing some interesting characters including Brooke's mama.

The beginning of season 6 was a big fat pile of OMGWTFBBQ, but in a good dramatic tension way...but that started to unravel as well. I'll point out that the character of 'Sam', Brooke's adopted-ish teeny-bopper, was an example of the way introducing a new young un is a BAD idea, especially considering that Sam resembled an actual teen next to these adults who played teens in the previous season. At the end of Season 6, Lucas and Peyton, two of the show's core core core characters (despite them being amongst my most hated) were unceremoniously dumped. I never thought I'd say it, but the gap has NOT been filled.

Instead, we got introduced to a pairing of new key characters, meant to replace ultimate couple Leyton. One of Haley's miscellaneous sisters, Quinn, she of the perfect marriage and inexplicable photography career, arrives out of nowhere to crash at the Scott mansion. And Nathan is back on his game with a handsome devil of an agent, Clay, at his side.

Now...I love Clay, I do.



The show has done a decent job of integrating him into the cast, although it's a far cry from brotherly camaraderie that was really starting to feel real between Lucas and Nate over the last few seasons. Plus I LOVED his back story episode(s), where we were introduced to a mysteriously awesome, charming chick in his life only to find out she was his WIFE that died randomly of a heart disorder. Brutal as I'd much rather see the actress that played Sarah be alive and well than well...

Quinn.


Other than having a nice hair colour, I can't STAND this chick. It's partially the show's fault for forcing the point that 'QUINN IS A GOOD PERSON LOVE HER AND HER SUNNY WANDERLUST!' down our throats to the point where I wish she'd walk into the ocean she so greatly fears and get drowned by Dan Scott. Her back story about her newly-loveless marriage to David made me unsympathetic to her cause (vs. Clay), and basically nothing she's done on this show has convinced me she's nothing but a spoiled, whiny brat. Perhaps she's the new Lucas then. In slight fairness, the casting department cast the biggest oaf of a husband they could find, but I STILLLLLL found him more endearing than Quinn. Also, although the term 'career' can be used loosely for most of our cast, she takes it to a new level, bunking in her sister's manse and randomly snapping people on the beach while cozying up to Clay.

So the show has decided to put a ton of focus on these two. Which pretty much makes me want to gag - I could handle them apart in small doses and their interactions with everyone else, but as a couple and their supremely unrealistic cheesmo conversations, including Clay's declaration at the mid-season break, are pretty much the WORST things to happen to this show, ever.

I get that you can't have a show (really) around 3 core characters - but I miss my Hayley/Nathan/Brooke face time. Instead we have the three of them constantly having to prop up these new additions to the show, and then some. Julian was interesting last season but now he's an inexplicable, unreadable knob a la cheating Lucas in early years. Alex can provide intermittent bouts of funny but as a sympathetic foil I find her irritating - just let her make her $*#(@&$( movie, be redeemed, and ideally leave town with Julian in her pocket. No one is good enough for Brooke (still / yet). Millicent had a fun run as an Alex wannabe but in general she's downerville, and I'm over her and Mouth's less-than-ideal relationship. Alexander Coin = snore and not good-looking enough for Mme. Brooke.

Ugh. I can't dwell on this show any longer other to say that I'm pretty sure the creator has been developing a music label-centred show for another network, and I think it's hurt a show that straddles the line between brutal and watchable.

So I meant for this post to be more about a number of shows that have fallen prey to the new core character problem, but I'll just leave you with this example. Season 3 of the OC was no picnic. Marissa was elsewhere with a cast of losers, Summer and Seth were on their own educational wavelength, and the one likable character introduced all season - Sadie - was unceremoniously tossed. But let me tell you why this season REALLY sucked, and who singlehandedly led to the demise of what could have been the best teen soap of all time had it kept up Season 1's momentum.

Taylor Townsend (played by Autumn Reeser)


Originally serving as a foil to our blissfully happy (in episode 1) couples Marissa & Ryan and Seth & Summer, Taylor tried to take down Summer in the college department, woo Seth in the comics department, and evict Marissa and Ryan from school. Predictably or not, by mid-season she was suddenly their sad little fifth wheel.

The main reason why I blame the demise of the show on Taylor (as early as S3)? The humour that they attached to a character like Taylor was COMPLETELY different than the vibe of the show. Consider the season 1 episode where Summer is randomly dating some funny dude who in fact, Seth and Sandy identify as not funny, but 'BIG'. Taylor is the female, camp equivalent. The show suddenly became about slapstick pratfalls and cheesy mean girl showdowns - but without the bite, irony, wit, or quirkiness of the earlier seasons. The show asked us to worship this completely ridiculous character with a penchant for older men in pastels and Yakuza films - there's Seth Cohen nerdy hip, and then there's Taylor's obnoxious cutesy psychoticness. BLAH!

Beyond that, the show really soured for me after Marissa's death (well, me and the world I guess). A friend and I had a long chat the night after the finale, and he pointed out that things might not be all bad. I tried to see the light and pointed out that, having enjoyed Sadie of S3, he was right - I was super excited to see Ryan: the college years and him finding a new Marissa type. But no. Instead the show decided to be pitifully lazy, continue the random not-funny brand of funny, and make TAYLOR - mortal enemy of Ryan in the first half of season 3 and barely on his radar in the latter half - Ryan's LOVE INTEREST? I DONT THINK SO. And yet it was so.

There are many things that could have saved the OC from an early death - not having the mysterious 'gap year' where they repeated grade 11, Mischa Barton getting her drunk ass to set on a more regular basis, the horrible Kirsten-out-of-rehab plot not being so entirely random...and so on. But really, I'm pinning this one on campy Taylor. Did I mention season 4 totally failed in the bringing a random child onto the scene? Yeah, I'm looking at you Katelin.

To the TV I go!

Britt's On

So tonight marks the second episode of ABC's new Lost-ish drama (despite the HILARIOUS Entertainment Weekly article to the contrary), FlashForward, and the boyfriend and I have been looking forward to it all week. We were actually apart all day Saturday and when we regrouped on Sunday morning, we both commented we'd spent that entire day thinking of the show. I'm crossing my fingers it a) doesn't get lame and b) doesn't get canceled as it's the first time in a long time I've liked a show this much off the hop (okay not a long time - I picked up Friday Night Lights and Mad Men in the summer of 2008).

Regardless...many people are wary of FlashForward because of its ties to Lost, and the slightly disappointing (there, I said it) way the show has turned out. As a Slate commentator pointed out in regards to the wholly different Mad Men's Don Draper, the more you shroud something in mystique, the more of a letdown the ending is bound to be.

The FlashForward is a relatively new technique being used increasingly enthusiastically by various television programs - but it's not always successful. Here's a quick breakdown of a few of the most famous examples, and my thoughts on each.

Lost - the show is VERY much centered on flashes forwards and backwards, and has been from day one. The backwards flashes were more successful in the sense they were wholly character driven vignettes that explained who this person was, how they ended up on the island, and why they were the way they were. The forwards were merely plot-driven, plodding scenes that focused almost entirely on returning TO that same island. That being said, the 'true' flash here occurs in the Season 3 finale, when it's revealed that several of the castaways make it back to their homeland, and manage to live there for three whole years before they get the itch to come back. This shock value made for possibly the best finale of Lost in a very shrouded, tricky episode (aside from S5's finale that made up for the rest of a very crummy season), but the execution was less than awesome, as mentioned.
Grade: B - great introduction, horrible execution. Bonus points for sticking to a human timeline (i.e. plane crash in 2004, flash forwards in 2004 - 2007).

Alias - JJ Abrams' first delve into the Flash Forward - keeping in mind I watched Alias after Lost, and was surprised to see him re-use this plot device in the latter show. At the end of a rather gripping S2 finale, Sydney wakes up in Hong Kong (or some equally busy, confounding city) and discovers she's been missing for two years, with no memory of her whereabouts - her father is in prison, her mother is in hiding again, and her former boyfriend is married - making for a very dark, very delicious Season 3 of the series. I wasn't that into Alias up until this point. JJ Abrams finally shocked the viewer in an unpredictable way (and this was having seen him do a flash forward in Lost dammit!) and didn't let things go as lightly as he tends to with other Alias plot lines - Sydney's two-year mind gap is the major focus for the first half of the season. It actually could have made for a season-long stretch (perhaps the argument made for why the flash-forwards in Lost were stretched out over two goddam seasons), especially after it was wrapped up so brusquely by none other than Terry O'Quinn's (Locke on Lost) character on Alias, and swapped in for a rather irritating double agent storyline with Vaughn's new wife.
Grade: B+ - The flash forward was used effectively here as a game changer. The world Sydney returns to is wholly different, and dark, and it was nice to see her on uneven footing for a change. As much as it was killing me to figure out wtf happened to her, it was also fascinating and awesome. I just wish the episode where they reveal all at once didn't happen - it was WAY too convenient and easy.

One Tree Hill - Say what you will, I think One Tree Hill made some very smart decisions when it came to the way they structured the show. The only downfall being the actors continually aging and looking increasingly distant from their fictional ages. The first four seasons were set in high school, and, realizing their fans would probably balk for four more 'school age' years with the characters split up at college & various career opportunities, they fast forwarded the show four years and a bit to all kinds of changes - Lucas engaged (but not to any major character)! Peyton living alone in LA working in the music biz (but not how you'd expect)! Brooke on top of the world in NYC (and feeling incredibly lonely)! Nathan's NBA dreams dashed (wheelchair)! And well, Hayley's a teacher with a normal, adorable child. The downside to this particular flash is the lack of acknowledgment of time. In one of the first episodes of S5, Luke is using an iPhone. Which makes you wonder...okay, when were the high school years set? What year did these kids graduate (I can't remember, nor do I remember any major signage indicating what year it was during their graduation episodes)? Did they actually graduate in 02 or 03 and the new season is set in 06 or 07? Now they've used the device again, jumping forward 14 months mostly to get past the awkward 'Lucas & Peyton are off the show but we can't write them out properly' debacle. Jury's out on how effective it is so far, other than I'm happy I didn't have to suffer through endless "Nathan reaches for his dreams!" episodes and Brooke / Julian continued 'You're never around' episodes. I've had enough of that in the first few this season.
Grade: A- If you can get past the time crunch, the fast forward was a welcome relief from the typically unsuccessful college years, and the resulting situations we find our heroes in have taken two seasons to resolve, if not longer in some cases.

Mad Men - Here's a show that uses a fast forward with care. It helps that it's a period piece that can actually use specific dates and times and historical events - and know the outcome - to mine their storylines from. Admittedly it's always a bit jarring to find yourself fast forwarded several weeks, months, years down the line at the start of each season, but Mad Men's timeline per episode is much wider than any other TV show I've ever watched. It really only helps add to the show's realism as characters move forward with their lives and careers independently of a typical television program.
Grade: A This is how fast forwards can be done - but keeping in mind that Mad Men has an unfair advantage of their show rigidly adhering to a timeline fifty years in the making.

Desperate Housewives - At the end of Season 5, perhaps to spice things up from waning viewers, the show fast forwarded five years in a OTH-style twist, completely unbent from time considerations, and even more annoyingly, age. The OTH characters benefited from the forward motion, looking more their fictional ages, but the DH ladies are now in cougar/menopause town, and it's hardly been acknowledged. Unlike OTH, which used the FF to avoid tedious storylines, DH wasn't really in that position, other than perhaps us getting to skip a ton of "Gabby's a stressed out horrible mom!" stories. When you consider the approximate ages of each character, they're all damn close to the 50 mark, but often comments on the show suggest the opposite. Plus the fun new developments - Gabby has two chubby kids, Lynnette's kids are finally teens, Edie has a new husband and is moving back to town - were severely underused. Last season fell flat, among the worst of the series in my opinion (along with S2's horrible Applewhite mystery), mostly because the untangling of the storylines from episode 1's fast forward didn't feel fresh, as Mark Cherry's likely intention, they felt tired and tried - and strained given the fact these ladies are five years older and still behaving like they're the spring blossoms that attracted sexy shirtless gardeners *NINE* "show years" (the first four seasons + the five-year fast forward).
Grade: C- Why bother with a flash if you're only going to give us a peek as to how it affects your characters lives?

That's all for now...cross your fingers with me the ultimate "forward" show holds true and keeps me thinking this week.

- Britt's On

So two of the shows I regularly watch - One Tree Hill, and Friday Night Lights, are in seemingly paradoxical states.

Okay, different, but somehow similar. One Tree Hill, currently in its sixth season, is facing the imminent departure of the shows two stars - Hilarie Burton (Peyton) and Chad Michael Murry (Lucas, er, kind of THE star of the show). Worst of all, it looks like they'll pull a cheesy wedding day death based on a totally random, spontaneous incident where Peyton having a baby is vaguely fatal. While Lucas and Peyton have never ever ever been my fave characters, their story is kind of the heart of the show - much like Karen and Keith's was a few seasons ago (again not my faves). Without them, I'm not sure where they're planning to take the series...but we'll get back to that.

On the flipside, Friday Night Lights (FNL) has gone through 3 seasons - the latter two of which they've stretched the age of some of the main characters - Tyra, Lyla, and Tim in particular all seemed to be seniors or at least juniors in Season 1, yet are just graduating now with established sophomores come seniors Landry and Matt. The funny thing is, FNL was taped about a year ago, aired on Direct TV about eight months ago, and got renewed for two more seasons two weeks ago. So you do the math - it's been a few very swan song, poignant episodes packed with tears and drama and heart. Now the big question on all the fans lips is where do we go from here? I stated my theory already, Coach T is going to get fired and head for team underdog at East Dillon High - which gives them more flexibility if they stayed at their current school with a new cast. My friend Sarah thinks they might move to San Antonio to keep dreamtastic Timmy Riggins on the show. We'll see...

So here is the paradox. Both shows are losing some of their core cast members. What now?

One Tree Hill has suffered a bit last season, but moreso this one, because the show lacks the momentum of the four high school years (in fairness! they stretched each year - 11 and 12 - over two seasons and acknowledged it). Back then, it was about the State Championship and getting out of high school alive. The producers made a relatively wise choice of fast forwarding past college - more tideous basketball and watching them grow apart - and brought things together in a emotionally fraught and interesting season last year.

This year however, there's been zero momentum. The interesting career positions each character was in at the beginning of S5 have all been erased - Lucas' career options recently abruptly shutdown, Peyton is semi-managing a record label under a mega label, Brooke is doing nothing but working in an empty storefront and designing endless wedding dresses, Hayley has quit her teaching job but also isn't interested in singing again, and Nathan is in a minor league for basketball but with little to show for it on the home or work front. Where are we going? Where's the ambition? I want things to *finally* happen for Brooke, and I want the writers to decide whether they want to give Hayley or Nathan a fairy tale career ending as they snatched them away over the last two years. S6 did start off with a bang (literally) but it's quickly degressed from there without a final build-up.

My question with OTH in relation to FNL is would OTH have benefitted from college years? I'm not sure. I think the lateral drift of the characters would have been depressing, as it is on most shows that go to college, but at the same time the forced closeness (and desire to stay in Tree Hill) today is equally irritating. So is the prospect of killing off a major character for contractual / dramatic reasons. Just have her leave people. Have you learned nothing from S3 of The OC?

FNL...I'm guessing the grads will not be seen in college. The writers have two choices as I've mentioned - to send them off gracefully with a story arc like Smash & Street, or to feature them as minor recurring characters in their other lives. Another theory my friend Sarah had was Coach Taylor might end up at San Antonio state, thus giving him a chance to at least continue coaching Riggins, but we'll see.

Before I depart, let's rank the success of college seasons on other shows I've watched:

Dawson's Creek - 3.5/5: The show actually did a decent job of portraying college in its 90s pretentious way, Joey got better hair, and they finally did away with Dawson by making him exist in a world separate from the rest of the Creekers.
Pros: Less Dawson, continued enjoyable drama, the awesome episode with Joey and Pacey in the K-Mart.
Cons: Noticeable (although acknowledged) drift of the characters, Extreme emo Dawson and the death of his father, Busy Phillips as Audrey = worst cast addition ever.

Gilmore Girls - 4/5: A friend of mine is watching GG for the first time on DVD right now (thanks to moi) and it's making me reflect that the high school years really were fun - with the wider cast of characters from Rory's school definitely outweighing her college castmates. That being said, the show was about Rory's academics / future more than her friends, and ultimately, about family ties which the show never lost - other than that patch at the beginning of S6.
Pros: Smart move on the writers to make Rory choose Yale - it invoked serious family drama, but ultimately kept the family bonds in tact with Rory/Lorilei, Also Logan was a welcome change of pace from Dean, and seeing Rory evolve into someone more confident was nice. Plus Paris (realistically) stuck around. Also the show just let Rory grow more because it wasn't just about "getting into college" it was about boyfriends and futures and careers.
Cons: Some people complain Rory became too stylized in college which I somewhat agree with. Also, the loss of Madeline, Louise, the Puffs, and the various other high school castmates was sad, but realistic.

Buffy - 4.5/5: Let me clarify. Buffy herself went to college for approximately 1.5 seasons - but really, Season 4 of the show was "the college year" that made lots of puns and metaphors, and also heartbreaking drama, of typical college experiences (one night stands, missing home, and getting stupidly hammered to name a few). By the middle of season 5 we had nary a class scene with Buffy, who dropped out as explanation, and returned for one ill-fated class at the beginning of S6. That being said - I give Buffy a 4.5/5 for the college years because to me, Seasons 4-7 are the best of the series (4-6 really), and Willow was attending college for most of them. Season 4 was a transition / turning point, and thus, I gave it a solid mark.
Pros: The show always used typical high school drama as metaphors for the monsters it created (ex: Angel in S2). In college (s4), it did the same thing, but with a few seasons of doing this under their belt, it was much better executed (imo), and generally the funniest season of the show. S5-S7 were just way better in overriding story arcs than the earlier seasons. The fact Buffy never seemed to be in class (nor did Willow or Xander) was finally more logical, and honestly, freeing. Also, glad they acknowledged that Xander was the Pacey of the bunch - not in school, and struggling a bit, but ultimately both work it out.
Cons: S4 in particular had a relatively weak story arc, and mostly rested on its funny / smart college metaphors. Also, Buffy & friends never complete schooling which somewhat makes this a moot show.

The OC - 1/5: Marissa (Mischa Barton) died at the end of Season 3. It was stupid. The one thing I was looking forward to was seeing Ryan go to college, move on, and possibly add a new interesting female to the cast (and playing a guessing game as to who it would be?!?!). Well. The writers decided to predictably - for casting reasons, not for actual story / character relevance - pair him up with goody two shoes/show ruiner Taylor (Autumn Reeser), which, if you watch the beginning of S3 again, is ludicrous. Aside from that, Seth - the token brainiac - wasted away his unwanted gap year and decided to randomly become a movie critic by season's end, and Summer's experience at Brown was laughably bad - thus she dropped out early.
Pros: None. I hated all the characters added / focused on at this point (especially Taylor, Katelin, and Summer's stupid hippie friend) and the 3 main young leads felt disconnected without bonding together to save the day for Marissa.
Cons: Everything. See above.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head...till next time.

Britt's On